SOUTH Africa's telecoms regulator has pushed back the announcement of the qualifying bidders for its long-awaited auction of new spectrum by a month to March 23, just a week before the sale had been due to be completed. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said it was completing a contract with the external auctioneer who will oversee and manage the process, and the auction would now start on March 31 rather than finishing then. Allocation of high-demand spectrum is seen as key to expanding broadband services, especially 5G, in Africa's most industrialised economy, where the high cost of…